2009 Cherry Blossom Viewing Brilliant Uncirculated Coin Set

Since the Japan Mint has many kinds of cherry trees in our Mint premises, we hold the Cherry Blossom Viewing Festival every April. Since its inception in 1883, the Japan Mint's Cherry Blossom Festival has enjoyed lasting popularity as one of Japan's best-loved spring traditions. We welcome hundreds of thousands guests not only from our country but also from various overseas countries. We are pleased to issue 2009 Cherry Blossom Brilliant Uncirculated Coin Set to celebrate this year's Cherry Blossom Viewing Festival.

A pure sliver medal (Weight: 4.36g, Size: L17.5mm × W17.5mm) with a design of this year's Chinese zodiac, Ox, and a latent image of cherry blossom petals (special technology applied to the medal makes the cherry blossom petals appear to move when viewed from different angles),

A plastic display case,

A paper slipcase with images of the Blossom of the Year, "Hirano Nadeshiko."

<Hirano Nadeshiko>
The Hirano Nadeshiko flowering cherry is so named because it is found in Hirano Shrine in Kyoto and its petals have a serrated edge that resembles a dianthus flower (nadeshiko in Japanese). The flowers are pink in color and large in size, with around 40 petals.